Die Zeit der Guaven

50-year-old Hoa’s mental development came to an end when, as a child, he fell from the guava tree that grew in front of his house. Since then he has lived in a world of childhood memories. After the war in Vietnam their house with the guava tree is confiscated by the new government, his parents are dead, his brother lives abroad and his sister is left to take care of a mentally disabled man. But Hoa doesn’t realise all that’s changed in his life. On a walk during which they pass their former house, Hoa climbs over a fence to pick a couple of guavas. The police, who have been called about the disturbance, release him only when a girl who now lives in the house intervenes; she then even invites Hoa to stay. The girl’s father soon learns of his presence, and suggests that Hoa be placed in a psychiatric institution. Director Dang Nhat Minh uses the memories of a man who can’t grow up to reflect upon a land which still has difficulty in reconciling itself to the past and in finding a direction towards the future. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)